Ethics in Psychological Assessments Paper
Write a 1,000 – 1,250-word paper discussing codes of practice and ethical issues that must be considered when using psychological assessments. Address the following in your paper:
- A description of at least three ethical issues including multicultural and diversity issues
- Ways to avoid the ethical issues in psychological assessments
- A discussion of how a clinician assesses behaviors that stem from cultures or subcultures
- A discussion of how a client’s academic/education, career, personal, and social development impacts assessment choice
Include a discussion of how these ethical issues are addressed in “Section E: Evaluation, Assessment, and Interpretation” from the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics.
Include at least three scholarly references in addition to the textbook in your paper.
Ethics in Psychological Assessments Paper
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Ethics in Psychological Assessments
Psychological assessments entail evaluating various personal attributes including personal characteristics, behaviors, and skills using assessment tools such as rating scales, interviews, questionnaires, and self-report inventories (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2018). These assessments help to make decisions about the best interventions for clients that will enhance their mental health and wellbeing. When conducting assessments, psychologists are expected to adhere to some ethical guidelines and use them when faced with ethical issues (Arslan, 2018). The purpose of this paper is to discuss codes of ethical practice and to explain ethical issues in psychological assessments.
Ethical Issues And Ways To Avoid Them
A significant ethical issue associated with the administration of psychological tools is competence. Psychologists may encounter clients who require certain tests which they are not qualified to administer (Arslan, 2018). As per American Counseling Association (2014), counselors should use assessment tools they are trained in and should avoid undertaking assessments that exceed their professional capacity. Furthermore, psychological assessments should only be used for their intended purposes. Psychologists should pay attention to the reliability and validity of different tests to reduce issues such as judgment mistakes and bias that may arise from unreliable tools. Arslan (2018) adds that it is also important to consider the applicability of specific tests to clients from different social and cultural backgrounds. Some clients may have specific language preferences based on their comprehension and communication capabilities hence psychologists must commit to their preferences. Before using specific tools, it is important to assess language proficiency and if possible, conduct the assessment in the client’s native language.
Psychologists must always seek informed consent before assessing their clients. Issues with obtaining informed consent may arise when clients have impaired or limited capacity to give consent. In such situations, psychologists are expected to inform the individual about the assessment using simple and plain language before receiving their consent (Arslan, 2018). To avoid other ethical issues, the American Counseling Association (2014) explains that psychologists should always provide clients with comprehensive information regarding the purpose of the assessment, specific assessment procedures, alternatives, time, and confidentiality before consenting to any assessment. However, written consent is not required in cases where the test is requested as part of legislative requirements or if the test is required as part of a routine activity in work training.
Ethical issues may also arise when releasing the results of psychological assessments. Psychologists may find themselves in ethical dilemmas when ethical rules and judicial requests contradict (Arslan, 2018). The American Counseling Association (2014) states that it is unethical to give test results to people who the client has not identified as authorized recipients. It is important to consider the welfare of the client when giving test results and to always provide accurate results based on the assessment findings. The only exception is if the results are demanded by courts or other legal conditions.
When interpreting the results of psychological assessments, ethical issues may arise when psychologists fail to consider how individual factors such as race, language preference, religion, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation impact the results. These issues may be avoided if psychologists pay attention especially when assessing and interpreting people whose culture does not fall within the norm group of a specific standardized tool. Other issues such as impacts of the external environment or intrinsic factors such as existing mental disorders must also be considered since they affect the results of the test (Arslan, 2018). The American Counseling Association (2014) also states that counselors should indicate any reservations they had regarding the reliability or validity of the research instruments based on the client’s norms or circumstances. Counselors should also be cautious when interpreting findings obtained from instruments lacking sufficient empirical evidence.
Psychologists may face ethical issues associated with disclosing assessment results that may increase their client’s anxiety and lead to a crisis. This issue can be avoided by treating the communication of test findings as the most significant part of the assessment (Arslan, 2018). All clients have the right to be informed of their test results including both positive and negative findings. Psychological assessors must always inform their clients of the purposes of the test to prepare them for the results and should honestly answer any questions posed by clients after giving the results. In addition, reports provided to clients must consider the cultural and personal backgrounds, level of comprehension, and how the findings may impact the client (American Counseling Association, 2014).
How A Clinician Assesses Behaviors That Stem From Cultures Or Subcultures
Clinicians can only assess behaviors resulting from cultures if they are culturally competent. Cultural competence stems from self-awareness where the clinician develops a deep awareness of personal values and beliefs and identifies any biases that stem from them. Cultural awareness can also be enhanced by testing hypotheses and collecting data instead of accepting personal experiences as the norm. Clinicians must also be aware of their client’s culture and sub-culture by assessing their worldviews and incorporating these findings when conducting assessments and interpreting test findings. Furthermore, clinicians should only choose standardized tests that are validated for use among people from specific cultures to promote the effective assessment of behaviors (Fong et al., 2016). American Counseling Association (2014) states that counselors must demonstrate cultural sensitivity when assessing clients by recognizing the impacts of cultural experiences on behavior and recognizing social and historical prejudices in mental health diagnosis against specific population groups.
How A Client’s Background Impacts Assessment Choice
The client’s background has a significant impact on the knowledge they possess on psychological assessments and their ability to comprehend assessment tools such as questionnaires, self-report inventories, and rating scales. The counselor needs to assess career, academic, social development, and personal factors that may impact the assessment process and determine the most suitable tool based on their clients’ unique situations. Some clients may do well with self-report inventories while others may require the counselor’s help comprehending the material hence interviews and questionnaires may be more appropriate (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2018).
Conclusion
Ethical issues that may arise during psychological assessments include informed consent, counselor competence, factors to consider when selecting assessment tools, releasing results of the assessment, and interpreting findings. These issues can be avoided by following the provisions described under section E of the ACA code of ethics. Clinicians should focus on enhancing their cultural competence to be able to accurately assess behaviors associated with an individual’s culture.
References
American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2014-code-of-ethics-finaladdress.pdf
Arslan, R. (2018). A Review on Ethical Issues and Rules in Psychological Assessment. Journal of Family, Counseling, and Education, 3(1), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.32568/jfce.310629
Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M. E. (2018). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Fong, E. H., Catagnus, R. M., Brodhead, M. T., Quigley, S., & Field, S. (2016). Developing the Cultural Awareness Skills of Behavior Analysts. Behavior analysis in practice, 9(1), 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-016-0111-6